Star magazine issues apology over Nicolas Cage stalker story

Actor Nicolas Cage has received a formal apology from editors at a tabloid after they falsely accused him of stalking Vanessa Hudgens on the set of their new movie.

Star magazine bosses published a story last month claiming Cage “constantly watched” his young co-star and “even showed up on days when he wasn’t filming to see her.” The article went on to allege that his behavior prompted Hudgens to beg directors to ban him from the set.

However, editors have since accepted the story was completely baseless and they issued a statement on Wednesday, apologizing to Cage for the erroneous piece.

The statement reads: “In a story in the Sept. 17 issue, ‘Creepy Cage Stalked His Costar,’ we erroneously reported that Nicolas Cage had ‘unnerved’ ‘High School Musical’ actress Vanessa Hudgens with his behavior on the set of their new thriller, ‘The Frozen Ground.’”

“Nic and Vanessa denied that any of the reported events occurred, and they confirmed that they’re on excellent terms and are eagerly looking forward to the Nov. 30 release of their film.

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“We apologize to Mr. Cage for the error and are happy to set the record straight.”

The forthcoming thriller is based on the real-life hunt for 1980s serial killer Robert Hansen, and stars Hudgens as a young victim who turns to a police detective, played by Cage, to bring him to justice. John Cusack portrays Hansen.

The news comes just a day after it emerged Cage had settled a lawsuit against editors at Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper over a false online story about his alleged tax troubles.

The actor accused journalists at the MailOnline of tarnishing his reputation by reporting he was behind on his payments in an article uploaded last month.

As part of the settlement, the actor received a story retraction, a proper apology, and a sum of undisclosed damages.